There may no be a bigger hot button issue at the moment in American society than the mistreatment of women. From the Presidential election to country music, it’s common to hear complaints and accusations about how women are discriminated against, denegraded, or downright abused, and few stories are more alarming than former Steel Magnolia member Meghan Linsey’s accusations that she was groped by a powerful man in the music industry, and told to keep her mouth shut by other powerful industry members or it could mean her career.

Meghan claims that in 2010 at the beginning of Steel Magnolia, a “very powerful man in the music business” reached under her skirt and groped her, and then tried to pick her up by her butt while numerous other important people in the music industry watched. Rumors of such behavior being common in country music’s good ol’ boy backrooms are nothing new, and Taylor Swift’s current lawsuit/countersuit with a radio DJ over a groping incident in 2013 is just one example.

The context of the revelation from Meghan Linsey was the release of Donald Trump’s off-camera comments during an Access Hollywood interview that dominated headlines in early October.

Meghan Linsey said in an October 9th Facebook post,

I was mortified and told him not to touch me and to put me down. It caused quite a scene and I could tell that he was embarrassed and angry. The next night he came up behind me and whispered in my ear, he said, ‘I have boats bigger than you could ever imagine, and I could put you in the middle of the ocean where no one would ever hear from you again. Just remember that.’ He laughed and walked away.

I stood there still with chills running through me. I couldn’t believe what he had just said to me. I knew I had to tell someone. I called my manager and she told me to never breathe a word of that story to anyone ever. I told the head of my label and he told me the same thing. They both said if I wanted to have a career in country music then I could never say anything about it out loud, to anyone.

However what Meghan Linsey has yet to do is name the individual she is accusing of groping her, or the manager or label head who told her not to speak about the incident. In fact Meghan has not addressed the accusations further since making them on October 9th, though the fallout has caused some collateral damage, and individuals thought to be a part of the incident have come out publicly to deny any involvement.

Scott Borchetta, who was the head of Meghan Linsey’s label Big Machine Records in 2010, flatly denies that he told Meghan to cover up the incident, or that he or anyone at Big Machine had any knowledge of it.

“Meghan Linsey is a highly regarded former member of the Big Machine Label Group and we would never condone, let alone silence an artist on this label who experienced this kind of behavior,” Borchetta told Fox 411. It’s worth noting that Taylor Swift is also on Big Machine, and is participating in an active lawsuit for a similar incident.

“We have a clear-cut HR protocol for these types of occurrences,” Scott Borchetta continues, “and while Meghan never came to me about any such incident, I checked our records and with our staff to see if she’d gone to someone else within the company. There is no record, nor any recollection from me or the staff of the incident she’s describing. Had it come to our attention, we would have certainly acted quickly and decisively on her behalf.”

According to Meghan Linsey’s former Steel Magnolia duo partner and fiance Joshua Scott Jones, the perpetrator in Linsey’s groping incident was the President LiveNation’s country division, Brian O’Connell. In a series of tweets, Jones said:

I knew when @scottborchetta said @BigMachine was where the “cool kids ” hang out I didn’t belong… A cool kid would never say such a thing. And when I wore jean shorts to a hotel and @scottborchetta sent me an email that if I continue to dress like a fucking bum I’m gone. And that time that Brian Oconell from live nation harassed then threatened to kill Meghan and we were told to be quiet by Virginia Davis. These are all my quotes btw go ahead and marvel. Meanwhile I’m the best musician in town and I can’t get arrested… This will change soon…There’s perception and there’s reality. don’t let your reality come from someone else’s perception… They don’t know your truth. JSJ

Virginia Davis is an artist manager for B.A.D. management, and presumably the manager who told Meghan Linsey to be quiet about the incident. Big Machine is a partner in the B.A.D. Management business, but as you will notice, Joshua Scott Jones—though criticizing Scott Borchetta for other things in his comments—never says Borchetta attempted to hush or cover up the alleged groping incident.

So far, neither Virginia Davis or B.A.D. Management have responded to the accusations, but LiveNation has, at least through an anonymous source to Taste of Country, who said on October 26th, “I can tell you that there is absolutely, positively no merit to the claim. I hate to even give it the time, frankly, to talk about it, because it’s just patently untrue. I don’t know why [Joshua Scott Jones] pointed the finger at Brian [O’Connor], but I would just tell you to consider the source.”

Joshua Scott Jones has publicly suffered from addiction issues in the past, and this is considered one of the reasons Steel Magnolia was dropped from Big Machine Records, and one of the reasons Meghan Linsey left him.

But the underlying problem is through all of these back and forths, Meghan Linsey has kept her silence on who exactly she is accusing of both the groping and of covering it up, leaving the public to assumptions, and potentially hurting innocent parties that the public may be assuming are guilty.

Few in the public need to take a leap of faith to understand that these type of groping incidents likely occur to young female performers in the country music industry. But that doesn’t necessarily mean all individuals of authority in country music need to stand accused of groping or covering such incidents up, though in some respects this is the ultimate result of Linsey’s non-specific accusations. Conversely, one of the reasons many female victims remain silent on such issues is because the tables can turn where they go from the accuser to the accused, which also seems unfair and an undue burden on a victim.

Nonetheless, if there is an individual out there that groped Meghan Linsey and is likely to grope others, or has groped others in the past, it’s imperative that we get that name out there to warn others who may fall victim, as well as clear the names of individuals the public might be assuming are at fault. LiveNation is similarly at fault for addressing the accusations through an “unnamed source.” At the same time, we live in an “innocent until proven guilty” society, and you can’t just throw accusations out without evidence or some sort of recourse.

The political polarization of this issue has emboldened many women to step forward and speak about incidents that for too long have remained in the shadows of places of political and corporate power, including, if not especially, in the country music industry. But if Megan Linsey’s accusations are going to have any significant effect aside from laying blame at the feet of non-specific individuals and entities, then she needs name names, she needs to file a lawsuit, or take some sort of other concrete action. Otherwise, it can appear that she’s using her story for political expedience to help bolster her case for Hillary Clinton as her candidate, or even for self-promotion by piggy-backing off of a hot button issue.

There is little to no reason to believe that Meghan Linsey is lying about the incident. But to ensure that further incidents such as hers don’t happen, the full story needs to be told.

30 Comments

JC Eldredge
October 31, 2016 @
8:21 am

I agree with you. When you make a statement like this in a public manner, you need to follow up. Broad brush accusations are how people’s lives are ruined and why so many women aren’t believed when they do come forward. She chose to put it out there, so she needs to give the facts, otherwise it looks like she’s jumping on the abused women’s bandwagon for a few minutes of publicity. And before anyone jumps me for “victim shaming”, just stop, because I’m not, but these are serious accusations and when you drop a bomb like this and then go mute, it casts a dark shadow over everyone you’ve worked with before and looks like you’re intentionally letting it simmer for dramatic effect.

”Few in the public need to take a leap of faith to understand that these type of groping incidents likely occur to young female performers in the country music industry……” . I would add …in ANY industry .

I think anyone who doesn’t live under a rock knows the truth in that statement , Trigger. Its an age -old issue often perpetuated , sadly , by the pursuit of fame/success and the powers that can bestow it , of course . I’ve been ‘in the music trenches ‘ my entire life and have seen this scenario often .I think we’ve all seen , heard or been part of similar incidents . It is unquestionably unfair , degrading , disrespectful and wrong . But as JC says above , this is such a serious accusation for ALL involved with , potentially , the most serious of repercussions that it is just wrong and ,due to the frequency with which these unsubstantiated accusations are made , even , perhaps , pointless .

i didn’t even know meghan had said anything because all i knew of this was what josh said on twitter that being said i’m with you now that the situation is out there whoever did it needs to come forward

I hope that one day Meghan Linsey is comfortable and confident enough to come forward and name her groper, and the people who covered it up. However, no man, regardless of how close they have been to her, should be the one to force her to come out and speak. Just because Josh chose to speak, does not mean Meghan should be forced to.

While many individuals would undoubtedly support her if she came forward with a name. She would also face a great deal of backlash. And merely stating an accusation may not be even remotely enough to accomplish anything anyways. Unfortunately, both the country at large, and the music industry, has a record of ignoring, or brushing off with minimal accountability, these type of incidents. Leaving the only ones who get hurt the victims.

While truth is an absolute defense to a defamation claim, many meritless libel suits have been brought, and it is costly to pay an attorney to defend you in a litigation, even if you prevail. Moreover, it is not always easy to prove the truth.

There have been wealthy and powerful people who have threatened to sue people who speak or write the truth with the intent and goal of intimidating and silencing others.

I have no personal knowledge of Meghan Linsey’s situation but if her story is true– and I have no reason to believe it isn’t– she may be cautious about naming the harasser because it would be costly to pay a lawyer to defend any defamation lawsuit that might be brought against her.

I don’t blame her at all for not naming names. I was sexually assaulted at age 10 and sexually harassed at Costco when I was 17.

I haven’t chosen to “do anything” about these things because I don’t agree with what OTHER PEOPLE want to do to “fix” my problem.

I think one of the big untold stories is how many who’ve been assaulted feel the same way. It can’t be proven, one way or the other. The media will sensationalize every aspect of the event, and both you and the accused will be tried via annonymous sources, warriors with axes to grind, agendas looking for an anectdote to exploit.

You may not agree that criminal justice is the correct way to cope with or rehabilitate the person you assaulted. You might not think that the process is the best way for you to cope and heal. Or maybe, you think you were assaulted, but not ruined… and you don’t want to be anyones sympathy case.

Linsey needs to cope and heal in whatever way is best for her own mental and emotional health. If she needs help navigating that, she should go the therapy route… not the politics route. IMO

I butchered this response in my haste to get my thoughts out there. I think by the context it’s clear but I meant to say
“You may not agree that criminal justice is the correct way to cope with or rehabilitate the person you [were] assaulted [by].

I have to agree with this in most cases despite my comments below. I have forgiven my abusers yet many times when the subject comes up total strangers are pissed and appalled at me for forgiving them and everytime this has happened it eventually comes out the this stranger has never been abused. Usually with a, “If anyone ever did that to me…” comment.

Seriously it seems many people want you to stay a victim. However, in this specific case I stand by naming names as opposed to hinting at who it is.

Meghan Linsey was not only groped but given a verbal threat that basically she’d be swimming with the fishes if she did talk. Understand why she is reluctant to name anyone? Interesting that Taylor Swift herself does not offer Meghan support, as she did with Kesha. .

Naming names can have an impact. But the point of sharing stories isn’t actually to name names. It’s to get out just how pervasive and prevalent sexual assault really is, to let other women know they aren’t alone. I worked as a waitress for several years, and literally every single waitress has been on some level a victim of at least unwanted private touching. The idea isn’t to shame the people who did it, it’s to create a culture where it’s no longer accepted.

The problem with how Meghan Linsey presented this was that she was vague and specific at the same time. If she had just come out and said, “I was a victim of a sexual assault early in my career, and so I can sympathize with other victims and personally identify with this issue” and left it at that, it would be one thing. But by blaming a female manager and a male label head for telling her to keep quiet, yet not naming their names, you’re introducing wild speculation into the mix which is patently unfair to the people who are being speculated upon, let alone this shady top level executive that shall remain nameless, meaning it could be any of a dozen or so guys. Basically it’s like sawing off the barrel of a shotgun and spraying it into a crowd when you’re really trying to shoot at one person. This kind of stuff can get folks fired and break up families, when the folks people think Meghan’s talking about aren’t the real perpetrators. Making it worse, Scott Borchetta is risking an HR lawsuit by going on the public record to say what Meghan is saying isn’t true, at least specifically about him … if that who she is talking about, throwing her whole story into question.

Trigger, you’re looking at this from the perspective of the potentially accused. But Meghan is the victim, so you have to look at it from her perspective. Not wanting to name abusers is fairly common, and you can’t compel people to do that, and it doesn’t diminish the story. Really I would guarantee this isn’t the only incident & the people she’s talking about aren’t the only perpetrators. Without worrying about individuals, the industry has to do a better job of protecting, especially female artists, from this type of abuse.

I’m not looking at this from the perspective of the potentially accused, I’m looking at this from the perspective of someone who hates all corrupt higher authority in the country music industry, and is sworn and duty bound to root it out at all costs and ultimately resolve the issues that put artists like Meghan Lindsey circa 2010 in the servitude of oligarchical masters who believe they can fondle young performers and get away with it. Someone sexually assaulted Meghan Linsey? Well let me know his name and I will be the first to unceremoniously roast his ass through the power of the written word. But I can’t do that if I don’t know who it is, and it’s unfair to assume who it might be.

@some It’s only a witch hunt, if you choose to make it one by trying to figure out her accuser. She’s an adult, she chose not to name him, you could respect that choice.

@Trigger you know the game whack a mole? You keep whacking the moles as they pop up, but more and more keep coming, bc the game is set-up to keep producing moles. The only way to stop moles from popping up, is to change/turn-off the game. Running out this guy who did this to Lindsey would have value, but another one would pop up in his place. I would guess that every music label has this type of stories (and multiple), and not just music, sports, TV etc. In the end what needs to be changed is the system, not just removal of the person.

I believe in naming names as part of the story at this point. Because just some vague story no longer has impact people are maxed out and males in particular are getting tired of the news painting their entire sex as something to be feared. So naming names would allow a face to be placed in context as opposed to just some generic hyperbole about males in general. There is a troubling mentality I have been subjected to in society where every male is now a potential rapist. Fear. Fear. Fear.

I speak as a male and a survivor. And also I am not living my life in fear of all men and women (I was abused by both but women more than men.)

So naming names gives more impact it puts a face to a story. Sadly it is not so simple because false claims ruin lives too. And people can convince themselves their story is true even if it isn’t. But still naming names has greater impact. That said I DO not think people should be named in public as some publicity stunt, in most cases handle it privately in the courts (to protect all involved).

As for acceptance. Murder is not accepted but still occurs. I know of no one who thinks groping or sexual abuse is OK or acceptable yet it still occurs even with people who know it is wrong.

As to speaking out and ending up six feet under. I believe this quote by Emiliano Zapata sums up my feelings on dealing with any social injustices.

“I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees.”

Understandably most people are afraid to die but that is what it comes down to in the end..

Who cares? She could be lying, or she could be telling the truth. Regardless, she is a person who may have had something bad to her and she just needs to deal with it however she wants to. I will say, articles like this are why I visit this site less and less. It just seems silly and pointless.

I could not agree less with you. This article is one of the reasons I love this site and respect Trigger. He has been talking about the objectification of women in country music, especially in the dreaded era of bro-country, for years now. Such abuse is endemic in an environment that denigrates women. They are reduced to something present simply to be enjoyed by men, no different than a cold beer, a good smoke or a shot of whiskey. It needs to be called out, and saying “she just needs to deal with it” is overlooking the impact on the life of the victim. Statistics tell us for every Meghan Linsey that is brave enough to come forward, many other victims are in the background and fear coming forward.

I’m exhausted by all of this. This is not a widespread problem. It is disgusting, no doubt, but it is not a widespread problem. You have been lied to and you have bought into something that isn’t true. Most men, the ones that I know, don’t do this to women. This is the buzz topic at the moment and you’re excited by it. This is a great site when we discuss articles pertaining to the name of the site, but articles like this don’t do anything for me, but that is just me.

We can disagree without being presumptuous of one another. It’s not a “buzz topic” or “exciting” to me. I have four daughters and I keep myself informed on this issue and teach them how to handle it if it occurs to them. My work in ministry has put me in touch with women (and men) who have been subjected to sexual abuse and it is much more widespread than you would think. It causes scars that last for life, and can indeed be a life changing experience.

Most men I know do not treat women this way either. However, the minority of men that act this way are causing huge swaths of damage in people’s lives. I applaud Trigger for pointing these things out and keeping awareness out there. You could say this article is about Saving Country Music because as we have seen women have been greatly marginalized in the modern country environment.

Fair enough. I respect your work in ministry. There is an evil world out there, no doubt. I am just very frustrated that we can no longer talk music or sports without something “heavy” or “political” attached to it, especially when that attachment is some buzz topic that the media created. I am not saying that sexual abuse is a lie. Its just, there is no evidence that points that stories like this encourage victims to come out. You say that it has educated you, but your work in the ministry has been more educational than this article, I’m sure. I often think that artists, especially ones like Meghan Linsey, who are not relevant anymore, come out with these stories to drum up media attention. I am not saying that this did not happen to her, or that she deserves this. I think the timing of it, right after the Trump tapes came out is a little suspicious. This is something that she needs to deal with legally and with her family. I think it does very little to come out to the world with this news, other than to get publicity. We, as a country, need to be able to discuss these things and not be deemed as people who don’t care about rape or anti-women. Once again, I respect your work in the ministry. God bless you.

Corey Feldman came out about the sexual abuse in Hollywood and was blacklisted and largely ignored because overall people care less about male survivors. I know this from personal experience as a survivor. Then fairly recently Elijah Wood made some vague comments on the issue as well and later retracted them or qualified them.

People need to start naming names top to bottom. Yes you get collateral damage but maybe if people start naming names then society will wake up to see just how normal and rampant this is and we can try to figure out WHY it occurs so much.

Education is not the issue people know it is wrong so why do so many women and men continue to sexually abuse others.

“Mansplaining is a portmanteau of the words man and explaining, defined as “to explain something to someone, typically a man to woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing. some people define it as “explaining without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, often done by a man to a woman” and feminist author and essayist Rebecca Solnit ascribes the phenomenon to a combination of “overconfidence and cluelessness”

Huh. Most men, the ones that I know, in powerful positions have done this in one form or another to women.
You have to be the one on the receiving end to know it’s true. You have to suffer at the hands of powerful men and know this goes on in every occupation and workplace. Dentist, doctor, lawyer…. Ayup. It sure does.

But man alive, I agree that you shouldn’t put it out there in dribs and drabs unless you’re willing to back it up. Those are some sharky waters.